This combination of pumpkin, coconut milk and spicy smoked peppers is a rich and warming first course, or light lunch dish. It is silky and smooth with the sweetness of pumpkin and coconut offset by a smoky spicy finish. I added just a squeeze of lime before serving to brighten the whole thing and bring the flavors together. Just a sprinkle of Vietnamese cinnamon added a nice touch at the table.

Make it ahead of time and reheat it for the most flavor. I saw the prototype for this recipe on epicurious, but I wasn’t completely happy with the way the flavors sounded together. I like my version!

Make sure the coconut milk "thumps" when shaken.

Cut the pumpkin into wedges and remove seeds. This will make it easy to peel.

Peel the pumpkin.

Cut the pumpkin into chunks

Rub leaves between fingers to check for freshness.

This sounds a lot more involved than it is. You CAN do this…and trust me, you WANT to.   Adjust the spiciness to your own liking. Thai chilis are HOT…chipotle a little less, and poblanos pretty mild. I would suggest starting with the chipotle and then moving to a Thai if you want it spicier.

Spicy Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup

• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced thin
• 1 1/2 pounds fresh pumpkin
• 2 cups canned or fresh coconut milk
• 2 cups  chicken broth
• 1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
• 1/2 dried Thai chili, or 1 chipotle in adobo, or to taste
• 2 tbs organic coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
• 1 tbs brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoons Thai fish sauce, or to taste
• Pepper to taste
• Juice of 1 lime

1. Peel the pumpkin and clean off any seeds.
2. Cut into cubes. You should have 4 1/2 to 5 cups cubed pumpkin.
3. Place the coconut milk, broth, pumpkin cubes, cilantro leaves, garlic, ginger, and chilis in a large pot and bring to a boil.
4. Add the salt and simmer over medium heat until the pumpkin is tender, about 10 minutes.
5. Stir in the fish sauce, liquid smoke, and coconut oil and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Spoon, a little at a time, into a blender and blend until smooth.
7. Set aside for flavors to blend about an hour
8. Reheat
9. Check seasoning and adjust.
10. Just before serving squeeze in the lime, ladle into bowls and sprinkle with cinnamon.

About 8 first course servings or 4-6 luncheon size servings

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There was seriously nothing left to do but make it myself.

I knew I did not want to put the cereal crumbs on it that Lori had – we don’t eat cold cereal much here. But Bobby Flay did not have that cool crunch to his that Lori had gotten by using the cereal…I decided on walnuts. And neither of them had used my favorite ingredient…you know….

Chipotle.

So…I used both of their recipes as a jumping off place and took a deep breath….

I loved it and so did the family. Success! I served this with organic maple syrup, grade B because I like the stronger flavor. There is not much chipotle in it, just enough to give it a tantalizing smokiness and a little kick. You can adjust that to your own tastes, or leave it out all together. The walnuts make a nice, crunchy contrast to the soft and spicy French toast.

I loved the color and the flavor was amazing. Add a couple of slices of bacon on the side and just thank God for Autumn!

Lori’s recipe and her amazing images can be found at RecipeGirl.

Texican Pumpkin French Toast

• 2 cups pumpkin puree, drain and press out the water if using homemade
• 12 eggs
• 1/2 cup brown sugar or agave
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 tsp chipotle,  powdered
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 3/4 cups half and half
• 1/4 c bourbon (if you are worried about any alcohol remaining in the toast just bring it to a quick simmer before using)
• Pinch of salt
• 16 slices of homemade Challah, thick sliced, homemade white bread, or Brioche. Cut and allow to sit out uncovered overnight
• 2 cups walnuts (or pecans), chopped and toasted

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Mix all ingredients except for the bread in a shallow pan.
3. Place the bread in the baking dish and turn to coat. Let it soak up all that yumminess for 5 minutes.
4. Melt about 3 tbs of butter in a pan over medium heat. Place the soaked bread in the pan and cook until golden on the bottom, about 3 minutes.
5. Turn and cook until the other side is golden.
6. Place in a 13 x 9 pan and put in the oven while finishing the rest of the toast.
7. Plate and serve with butter, syrup, and a sprinkle of the walnuts.

Serves 8

images: marye audet

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The thing is that I have been getting behind on grocery shopping. We have pretty much had to make do with the scraps and bits left on the empty pantry shelves. In fact, the refrigerator echoed the other day. I swear it did. No reason for me not to go, just still run down from the surgery and then the potassium issues. I am so blessed with work right now that it is easy to get behind on things like groceries! That is how I found myself with a group of intense faces in front of me and a clock behind me that said “SUPPERTIME!”

Oops.

Grabbed a can of pumpkin and the thing of flour and started throwing things together and this is what happened:

Look at the colors in that! The dish is Autumn personified. I love it. I wanted a smoky flavor that would reflect all that is Fall. Spicy, earthy, and easy. I think I got it. And this is my entry to Presto Pasta Nights, hosted this week by Sara of I’m a Food Blog

Applewood smoked bacon, onions, roasted red peppers, chipotle, and smoked olives are sauteed in olive oil and finished with just a splash of maple syrup. Diced fontina gets sprinkled on top and the whole thing takes less than 30 minutes.

The roasted red peppers were commercial, as were the smoked olives. I got mine at the grocery store but if you can’t find them I think Amazon carries them. I also found these chipotle smoked olives which sound amazing.

You can make these a day ahead and store them in the refrigerator for a really quick meal.

Need a menu? Try this:

• Pumpkin Gnocchi with Smoky Chipotle Sauce
• Baguette
• Sauteed Lemon Brussels Sprouts with Pistachio
• Pecan Praline Cheesecake

I hope you like this as well as I do.

Pumpkin Gnocchi

• 1 (15 oz.) can solid pack pumpkin or two cups of homemade pumpkin puree, drained
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 3 cups flour or enough to make a soft dough
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Mix together until you get a soft, kneadable dough. You want it to be the texture of soft Play-do.
2. Cut in about 5 or 6 parts and roll each part out into a 3/4 inch thick rope
3. Slice in pieces about 1/2 inch thick
4. You can use a fork to make a design, or not as you wish
5. Spoon gnocchi into water that is at a slow boil
6. Cook until done, it will come up to the surface and float there. Just take that batch out with a slotted spoon and add the next batch until all are cooked.
7. Toss with Smoky Chipotle Sauce

Smoky Chipotle Sauce

• 1/2 cup smoked green olives, sliced
• 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
• 6 slices of applewood smoked bacon
• 1 tsp of dried chipotle, more or less to taste
• 1 onion chopped
• Pinch of cinnamon
• 1/4 cup olive oil, smoked olive oil if you have it
• 2 tbs of maple syrup (more or less to taste)
• 4 oz fontina, diced

Directions:

1. Simmer everything but the maple syrup and fontina in a pan on low heat until the onions are cooked
2. Stir often, don’t let anything caramelize
3. Stir in the maple syrup and simmer for another minute or two. Taste and adjust seasonings
4. Pour over cooked gnocchi and toss
5. Sprinkle with fontina

Serves 6-8

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Rich and creamy, with a faint coconut flavor that is followed by a tingle of spiciness. As my dad used to say, “This soup has some authority to it!”.

Eating hot peppers really does cause your circulation to increase and it warms you up more than just a warm soup alone would. You can simmer this in a crockpot or make it on top of the stove. If you do decide to make it in a crockpot start with rice that is cooked. I never have had much luck in getting rice to cook right in a slow cooker.

This recipe has a lot of ingredients but there is not a lot of prep and it goes together really fast.  I really loved it and so did the entire family.

Need a menu suggestion? Try this –

• Thai Coconut Curry Soup
• Soft Dinner Rolls
• Mixed Baby Greens with a warm sesame dressing (just warm it to about 110F before adding it to the salad) and grilled pineapple slices
• Chai Spice Snowballs

This is based on a recipe from Epicurious.

Thai Coconut Curry Soup

• 10 cups organic chicken stock
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 oz dried lobster mushrooms, optional
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in thin slices
• 2 dried thai chile peppers
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
• 1 leek, cleaned and sliced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced small
• 2 14 oz cans organic coconut milk (not the sweetened kind)
• 2 bunches of cilantro, stems discarded and leaved chopped
• 1 1/2 cups Jasmine rice
• 2 tbs Asian fish sauce
• 2 tbs brown sugar, if desired
• Juice of one lime
• 3 tablespoons curry powder, or to taste
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Bring the water to a boil and pour it over the mushrooms. Allow to stand for 20 minutes
2. Combine stock, curry powder,  mushrooms and water, peppers, leeks, carrots, garlic, ginger, and chicken. Simmer until chicken is tender, about 15 minutes
3. Stir in rice and simmer until rice is cooked, another 15 minutes or so. Leave uncovered and stir occasionally
4. Add remaining ingredients and allow to simmer for another 15 minutes
5. Remove peppers, taste and adjust seasonings
6. Garnish with cilantro leaves

Serves 8

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Polenta and grits are similar products, both made from corn. Grits are normally served as a side dish for breakfast, much as you would serve cream of wheat. In recent years they have become more popular and taken on the role of a side dish.

Grits are creamy, somewhat bland, and soothing but they will take on the flavor of almost any ingredient you put into them. They are cheap and filling and those two attributes make them a favorite ingredient at my house.

These Southwestern style grits are full of flavor cheese, onion, garlic, chiles, tomatoes, cumin, and cilantro. They would be excellent served with grilled meats of any sort.

Quick. Easy. Cheap. Yummy. What more can you ask?

Southwestern Style Grits

• 3 cups water
• 1 16 oz. can Ro*Tel tomatoes with chiles
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 cups grated cheddar
• 1 cup diced onions
• 1 tsp finely minced chipotle or to taste
• 1 cup grits
• 1 cup black olives, sliced

Directions

1. Combine water, tomatoes, spices, onions, and chipotle in a pan. Bring to a boil
2. Add grits, stirring constantly
3. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring until grits thicken
4. Add cheese, cilantro, and olives
5. Stir until creamy and serve

Serves 8

You can also add some crisp bacon to this with great results

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It isn’t so much that the family gets bored with the same old potatoes day after day.. I do. I hate cooking the same thing more than once. In fact I am pretty sure that I did not repeat a meal for at least the first ten years of my marriage. After that I got lazy.

I was always taught to eat the whole potato, including skins. This is great IF you are buying organic, but if you aren’t you may want to go ahead and peel.

I like to use an old fashioned potato masher for smashed potatoes. I like the rustic look, the texture, and the sheer coolness of using the potato masher that my grandmother did. You can whip them if you like but the potato masher is great fun.

These potatoes are spicy and cheesy with the addition of Pepper Jack and Cheddar cheeses. Easy to do, and awesome with almost any meat.

Or at midnight, straight from the fridge with a spoon…not that I know anyone that would do that…

Southwestern Smashed Potatoes

• 1/4 lb chorizo, cooked…optional
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
• 3 lbs potatoes- peel russets, if using the red potatoes leave the skin on and just scrub well
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup half and half- simmering hot
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 cups grated sharp cheddar
• 1 cup grated Pepper Jack
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil potatoes in water to cover until tender.  Drain. Place in a large bowl.
2. Saute onion and garlic in a little olive oil until tender. Add to potatoes
3. Add sour cream,  half and half cream, butter, and  the cheese.  Mash with a potato masher until fluffy and cheese melts.  Stir in the chorizo if you have opted to add it.
4. Serve hot

Serves 6-8

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If you are eating that stuff stop it. Stop it now. You will end up glowing in the dark and if we ever get attacked by zombies they will find you first. Reason #106 NOT to eat weird food. Besides, in the same amount of time..or close to it you could be eating this:

These are serious nachos. The real thing. Tex-Mex at its absolute best. And it is an easy nacho recipe. Here’s a secret. ALL nacho recipes are easy! You can either broil or bake nachos. Leave off the chicken and you have a vegetarian nachos recipe.

Cubes of chicken breast are sauteed until golden and then simmered in a chipotle-adobo with cilantro, cumin, onion, and garlic.  While that party is going on corn tortillas are being transformed into slices of fresh, hot, crunchiness… Into the oven for a few minutes and …

Yep. Right there with ya.

Nachos are an inexpensive lunch or quick dinner, and kids will eat them because they are chips. When you fry the chips yourself, and use real cheese…well the difference is amazing. And I will tell you a secret…Lean in now….closer…

Do you see it? Yes it is. Yellow crookneck squash. You could use zucchini as well. Just chop it up a little smaller than the chicken and simmer it with the adobo.

I know, right? Brilliant.

This is very spicy. If your family doesn’t do spicy so well you will want to cut back on the amount of adobo and chipotle, and probably cut the jalapenos out all together.

Spicy Chicken Nachos

• 1/2 lb of corn tortillas cut in wedges
• Peanut oil for deep frying (you can substitute, this is my preference)
• Olive oil for saute pan
• 2 boneless chicken breasts, cut in cubes
• 3 tablespoons of chipotle in adobo (or less)
• 1 jalapeno, chopped
• 2 cups cubed yellow squash
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 2 cups organic, dark red kidney beans, cooked (you cn use pinto, black beans, or what you like)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar, Monterey Jack, colby or a mixture of your favorites
• Salsa, tomatoes, lettuce, avocado,cilantro etc. as you like.
• Sour cream

1. Preheat the oil in a deep fryer to 370F
2. Saute chicken in a little olive oil until it starts to turn golden. Add onion, squash, peppers, and garlic and saute about three minutes.
3. Add the chicken broth, cumin, and  adobo/chipotle mixture. Chop and mash the chipotles as you go. Add the cilantro.
4. Simmer until the chicken is done and the stock has evaporated. Do not let it go dry.
5. Stir in the beans.
6. Set aside.
7. Fry the tortillas until golden and crisp. Drain and place on cookie sheet in a single layer.
8. Using a slotted spoon, spoon chicken mixture over the tortilla chips as evenly as you can.
9. Sprinkle with cheese
10. Broil on high until cheese melts
11. Serve immediately, topping with tomatoes and other toppings of choice.

Serves 8

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The sauce is spicy. If you don’t like it spicy then adjust the amount of habenero or change the peppers totally. You could go with a chipotle, a jalapeno, or a serrano. It is hard to say how much to use because each person seems to have a different opinion as to what is spicy and the peppers can vary in heat from pepper to pepper. Let me tell you what happened to me.

I was getting the ingredients together for this sauce. Normally I taste a pepper to see how much I will want to use because I have had enough variation in heat to totally mess up a recipe. So I took a tentative nibble…they were, after all, habeneros.

Nothing. just a tiny little zap on the tongue. Sigh. I proceeded to chop about three habeneros and add them to the sauce. As I chopped the last one I popped a bit of it in my mouth.

ZOWIE. I saw stars. I became one with the universe. The top of my head came off. Again, verily, verily, I say unto you…always, always taste the peppers. EACH pepper. They vary in heat!  Quickly I pulled as many peppers as I could see from the bubbling sauce and put them in the chicken scraps. Our chickens like spicy things.

So, be sure to to check your peppers for heat and adjust your recipes accordingly.

This sauce was so good that people were spreading it on bread until it was gone.

Blueberry Habenero Sauce

• 1 large, sweet onion (like Vidalia) peeled and chopped
• 1 quart of blueberries
• 2 habenero peppers, chopped (adjust as needed)
• 1 tsp of adobo sauce from a can of chipotle in adobo, you can leave this out if you don’t have it but it adds a nice dimension
• 1/4 cup good quality balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar, or to taste
• Juice and zest of one lime
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• Olive oil for pan

1. Saute the onion in the oil until it is soft.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the lime juice, and simmer until the sauce reduces by about half. This will take ten minutes or so.
3. Add the lime juice and remove from heat.
4. Blend the sauce in the blender until smooth.
5. Brush on meat before cooking and then serve remaining sauce as a garnish.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

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I wanted to get this recipe up in time for you to consider it for Fourth of July though.  I know, I know, you always have the same potato salad and it is tradition…well yeah! Me too, but you have to try this because it is addictive. Have I ever lied to you? I am telling you that this potato salad is absolutely my favorite now, and although I grew up on the traditional Midwestern style potato salad with a tiny touch of mustard, boiled egg, and celery, THIS blows my Mom’s potato salad out of the water. Sorry Mom.

Unlike classic potato salad this shouldn’t sit around very long. The hot peppers tend to get hotter as they sit… so what seems to be mild at 10 a.m. is spicy at 4 p.m. and three-alarm by day 2, if it lasts that long. The warm flavors of the Southwest are highlighted and this is perfect with the classic burgers and hot dogs, or a brisket.

I used organic red skinned potatoes for this but next time I plan on using a combination of organic heirloom potatoes; for color an flavor. The thin skinned potatoes are important to use in this recipe for their flavor, texture, and color.

I saw a recipe in Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill Cookbook and decided that I wanted to try it…but as usual I could not follow directions and had to go off on my own tangent. I think you will agree that it is an awesome tangent.

You might want to cut back on the spicy peppers. The chipotles will be the hottest and the poblanos the mildest. The potato and mayo tone down the spice but still….

Southwestern Potato Salad

• 4 lbs heirloom, thin skinned potatoes, cut and boiled until tender but not mushy
• 2 red onions, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, roasted until soft
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 Poblano pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2-3 canned chipotle peppers in mole, chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup cilantro chopped
• 2 cups Hellmans (yes, Hellmans) or homemade mayo
• 2 tbs Guldens brown mustard
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 tablespoon agave, turbinado, or local honey
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin (I used a tablespoon)

Mix the mayo, mustard, agave, cumin, and lime juice. Squeeze in the soft insides of the roasted garlic and mix well. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss the potatoes, peppers, onions, cilantro, and chopped garlic until well mixed.

Pour the mayo mixture over all and blend gently. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 8

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Father’s Day is always fun around here. This year, however, Marc is working on that day so I was glad to test the menu ahead of time. He was very enthusiastic about the chicken, and he tends to be a meat and potatoes (and lasagne) kind of guy. There is enough heat to the glaze to keep it from being too fussy. It has presence!

Adjust the amount of peppers to your own taste. There are a lot of different types of peppers in this but each conributes something besides heat-each has a unique flavor that, when combined, is amazing.

Spicy Apricot Glaze

• 1/2 lb applewood smoked bacon
• 1 1/2 cups chopped sweet onion
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1 cup organic orange juice, with pulp
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 poblano peppers, diced
• 1 red Fresno pepper, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle granules
• 1 teaspoon tabasco
• Black pepper to taste

1. Saute the bacon until crisp. Add the onions and continue to saute until they are tender, and then add the garlic and saute for a minute or so.
2. Add the remaining ingredients. Simmer for fifteen minutes or until the apricots are very soft.
3. Puree mixture in a blender until it is almost smooth. You want it to have a bit of texture. Allow to sit overnight in the refrigerator if you have time. It will keep for up to a week, refrigerated.

Yield:about 1 cup

Just brush it on the chicken toward the end of grilling time and serve the chicken with more glaze on the side.

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